DIY Moby Wrap: A Mermaid Tail Tutorial

Posted on October 23 2016

At MOBY we love love love coming up with new colors and prints for our wraps and carriers. But! We also know how much fun it can be to DIY, which in this case stands for Decorate It Yourself. So we're partnering up with some talented folks to bring you a series of DIY Moby Wraps! Have an idea you'd like to share? We'd love to hear it! Contact us with your DIY tutorial idea to be considered as a blog feature. (please note that all DIY treatments need to preserve the integrity and functionality of the wrap)

Welcom guest crafter, Hanna Smith of Platforms & Pacifiers

Hello Beautiful Baby Wearing Professionals and Novices Alike! I’m Blogging, Baby Wearing, Mama of two - Hanna of Platforms and Pacifiers! I was originally introduced to babywearing in 2013 when I was given a sling by a family member, and I was HOOKED from the very start. As my first child started to grow he outgrew the particular sling we had and I purchased a front carrier off the sale rack at a big box store. MISTAKE. I hated it. Fast forward to 2016 and I was pregnant with our second child and was determined to find a way to babywear. Enter the Moby! A fellow babywearing friend gave me my very first Moby Wrap as a baby shower gift, and I fell in love with it the very first time I wrapped our little peanut in it!

We've even climbed a MOUNTAIN while baby wearing!

It didn’t take long for the Crazy Crafting Lady in me to start thinking of ways I could customize my Moby. So I'm proud to introduce to you ...

Instructions:

Step 3: Once your wrap is dry lay it out flat and lay out your stencil, tracing around the stencil with your Elmer’s School Glue. Don’t worry about messing up because if you do you can just wash the glue out and start over!

Step 4: Leave your wrap flat until the glue is COMPLETELY dry.

Step 5: Prep the RIT Dye. Mix dye in buckets according to instructions on the packaging.

Step 6: I worked my way from the middle outward. But traditionally you would start with your lightest color first. Honestly it’s up to you, one thing I love about tie-dye is that it’s pretty much impossible to mess up! So after I finished with purple I went on to my blue and green.

*Dyeing Tip: For different a textured look twist your wrap each time you dip it into the dye. For a more even, solid color make sure fabric is evenly dipped and not folded.

Step 7: This is the HARDEST part! Wrap your wrap in a plastic bag (I wrapped one around my purple part leaving the rest to hang out of that bag, then put the entire thing into another bag) and let sit for 24 hours.

Step 8: Once 24 long hours have passed you need to rinse the extra dye from your wrap. You can either rinse your wrap in the sink until the water runs clear, or set your washer to the rinse cycle and wash it that way (which is what I did). Then you can either let it air dry or toss it in the dryer with an old towel and tumble dry on low.

Step 9 (optional): Paint! I free-handed this stencil. But mermaid-tail is one that you may use if you feel more comfortable with a printout rather than drawing your own stencil. Once you're done painting let your wrap air dry completely!

*Paint Tip: Paint your entire area White before adding any color. This will make the colors brighter and prevent any color changing due to a colored background.

*Paint Tip: Let each layer of paint dry completely before adding the next layer.

*Paint Tip: You can use Fabric Paint or Acrylic Paint for this. I prefer Acrylic because it is less expensive, comes in more colors and can be used for more than one project!